"Eroica has opted for an almost silent backdrop, so the bass’s voice is given to us “as is,” without any sort of reverberation at all. There are plusses and minuses—more detail but a little less tonal depth... We get two indelible treats: the Hungarian Songs by Chaiter’s friend and colleague Erwin Junger and the Four Serious Songs by Brahms, probably in one ofRead more its few bass realizations.

Junger is a name new to me, and I fervently hope I come across some more music by him. These songs, written according to a selection of recent Hungarian poets, are as mysterious and provocatively radiant as just about any new song cycle I can think of. The music matches the haunting evocations of the texts, at once celebratory and bittersweet about life. Chaiter has an obvious affiliation with these works, and the reading must be considered definitive. The Brahms is serious in the sense of depressing in an unredemptive Ecclesiastes manner. Only the retreat to St. Paul in his chapter-one paean to love in First Corinthians keeps this cycle from collapsing under the weight of its own pretensions. Yet it is late Brahms, extraordinarily beautiful, and resolutely intense under Chaiter’s magnifying-glass concentration. This alone would be worth the price of the disc."

Customer Reviews

Sign up now for two weeks of free access to the world's best classical music collection. Keep listening for only $19.95/month - thousands of classical albums for the price of one! Learn more about ArkivMusic Streaming